I Know Why You Smile
by Chronic Potterphile
Summary: Scorpius and Victoire, who have nothing in common but failed marriages, come to realise that sometimes, shared emotions can be the sole reason behind bringing two people together. (Sequel to 'His Hero', contains Scorpius/Rose and Scorpius/Victoire as the principle pairings, but as this is part of a challenge, light will be thrown over Scortoire).
1. Falling Apart

**Story Notes:**

**DISCLAIMER:** I'm not JK Rowling! Nothing you see here belongs to me!

Also, I'd like to thank WrenWinterSong/Wren for her fabulous beta work, and xxbabewithbrainsxx/Soraya for looking through the fic to help me with lowering the rating for this. Thank you! :D

This fic is a sequel to my ScoRose one-shot, 'His Hero'. I'd advise reading that before you get to this, but this can be read independently too. :)

This fic, like its prequel, is for the fabulous Nadia/lairyfight, who is the best sister ever! :D *hugssss*

* * *

**Author's Chapter Notes**:

Hello! Welcome to my brand-new WIP!

So I got carried away, and the first chapter is mainly just ScoRose (gosh, I ship them so hard, it hurts), but I do have to, and will start the Scortoire next chapter onwards. Maybe writing Scorpius and Victoire properly will actually make me like them more. :)

* * *

**Chapter 1: Falling Apart**

_Tap tap tap._

Scorpius Malfoy ignored the owl's raps on the window pane as he brushed his teeth at the sink. Rose was pottering about the kitchen, making toast, and he knew she'd get to the owl. He wasn't bothered until it kept tapping at the window for the next few seconds, seemingly rather impatient.

"All right, all right, I'm coming," he heard Rose say as he spat out the frothy toothpaste goo. He rinsed his mouth and was washing his face just as he heard the bathroom door open. Rose entered the bathroom in a robe, and Scorpius smiled at her through the mirror. She returned it, but her smile was rather hurried as she faced her back to him and made to take off her robe.

"What was in the mail?" he asked her, turning around and watching the robe come off and reveal a bare, freckled body with only her pants to cover a really small part of it.

"It's my patient," she muttered, undoing the bun that her hair was in and offering no further explanation as to why a patient was writing to her. These kinds of short, one-sided conversations had been going on between them for weeks. To make matters worse, sex was scarce nowadays. The last time they'd so much as shared a proper kiss was two weeks ago.

Scorpius knew that all this had a lot to do with the fact that they were both busy Healers, but he didn't know how to sort this out. True, he hated his profession; he blamed it for his divorce and the death of his first-born, but if it weren't for this profession and his frustration towards it, which had almost led him to kill a patient one day, he wouldn't have met Rose, who was a psychiatric Healer. He had been irritated with her in the beginning, but then he started confiding in her. Soon, Rose started feeling like a friend; she seemed to understand him, she was intelligent, and really pretty too, and Scorpius found himself starting to get attracted to her.

One evening, Scorpius, who was really angered by his ex-wife, Millie, got drunk, and Rose ran into him at the pub. Looking at his distress, she tried to talk to him in his room, and he, in his drunkenness, had fired her from being his Healer and kissed her. After that, the emotions came out - the true emotions behind the death of his daughter, Amber, and how he felt about Millie divorcing him. He and Rose slept together that night, and Scorpius woke up the next morning with no regrets. The rest… well, that was all history, and here they were, a year later, in love (having said the three words to each other numerous times), and still in the very same relationship, which seemed to have lost its magic (did that happen in love?).

"Would you like to join me?" Rose asked him, gesturing towards the shower and interrupting his thoughts as she proceeded to take off her pants.

"I need to get to work early," he muttered truthfully, cursing his boss as a sensation down his navel advised him to take up her offer.

"Okay," she said, a little dejected, but completely naked now. She climbed into the bathtub, pulled up the curtains, and switched on the shower. "Your breakfast is on the table," her voice said over the sound of the water. No 'see you later' or 'I wish you didn't have to leave early'. Just something about breakfast. _This relationship is only getting better and better_, thought Scorpius exasperatedly.

A layer of steam seeped out through the gaps in the curtains, and Scorpius could only imagine her in there. As the area near his navel gave him another nod to get into the shower with Rose, Scorpius decided that he could afford to be a little late. What the hell; St Mungo's was filled with Healers, and a single one missing would hardly make a difference.

In a moment, Scorpius's robe was on the bathroom floor and the shower curtains had been ripped apart. He climbed into the bathtub with her, under the shower, enjoying the warm drops of water as he entwined his arms around her waist. She turned around, locking lips with his and her hands feeling his wet hair first, and then moving down his neck and his back. His finger, in the meantime, was tracing circles around her belly button… teasing her…

_Malfoy! Where the fuck are you?!_

Scorpius suddenly pulled away from Rose as he heard his boss's voice reverberate around the flat. It was really something that Healer Murphy could be heard clearly, even over the sound of the shower.

"Shit," said Scorpius, trying not to slip as he hurriedly grabbed a towel and skidded out of the bathroom to talk to his boss. "I didn't know that the bastard would actually care enough to Floo…"

As he wrapped the towel around himself and went ahead to talk to his boss, he wondered what was happening to the perfect relationship he had been in. First a dead child, next a broken marriage, and now a rocky relationship. Life seemed to never want to let him be happy.

* * *

_Tap tap tap._

"Scorpius, get the mail, will you? The owl's been tapping at the window forever."

Scorpius looked up from his dinner and glanced at Rose, who was sat at the coffee table on the other side of the room, looking through a file. He seemed to have learned to ignore the owl's tapping at their window these days. It was always the same owl; it came twice a day, and it was an impatient thing. Rose said that it brought letters to her from a patient, but Scorpius wondered who this disturbed person was.

He put down his fork and crossed over to the window, opening it, and letting the bird in. It stuck out its leg and left as soon as Scorpius had taken the scroll. He went over to Rose and handed the letter to her. "Who's this patient?" he asked her curiously.

"Just someone who's really going through a rough time," she replied, taking it.

"Squib?"

"Werewolf."

Scorpius bit back a wave of annoyance at the short, uninterested answers. "Since when have you been allowed to take such complicated cases?" he asked her, trying to ignore the irritation.

"Well, I can't be a junior forever, can I?" she asked, not noticing any of this. For a Healer specialised in psychiatry, she didn't notice a lot of things at times.

"Lucky you," sighed Scorpius. "I don't feel I've made any progress in the last year."

"Of course you have," she muttered, reading the letter.

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked, slightly frustrated at her lack of attention.

"Mm hmm."

"Oh, _for the love of Merlin_, Rose!" Why did he have to be the tolerant and patient one in every fucking relationship in his life? First, he had had to run after Millie for months just to try and save their marriage, and now this with Rose.

Rose finally looked up from her letter. "What's wrong?"

He decided to talk to her about it immediately because the more he delayed it, the worse this was bound to get. He sat himself next to her, ignoring his half-eaten dinner. He wanted to sort this out right now. "What's happening to us, Rose?"

She raised her eyebrows. "What's happening to us?"

"Don't act dumb. You're smarter than I am, and you know exactly what's going on."

She sighed. "Scorpius… I-" She looked at her watch. "I need to go somewhere. Can we talk about this later?

"Where do you have to go right now?"

"I… patient… I won't be long," she said, stuffing the letter into her handbag. "See you."

* * *

_Tap tap tap._

"It's that fucking owl again, Rose."

Scorpius adjusted his lime green robes and combed his blond hair in front of the mirror as Rose rushed out to get it. He sighed as he took his time to fix his hair. Things between him and Rose were just getting worse. On the particular evening when he had pointed out that they needed to talk, Rose had come back late from wherever she had gone, by which time Scorpius had already gone to bed because he was required early at the hospital. After that, Rose had always been late from work, and they'd never had a chance to talk at all. And when she was at home, her cousin, Victoire, showed up at their doorstep, crying, and the two women would disappear into the guest room for hours together.

Scorpius never bothered to ask Rose where she went, or who those letters were from. He rarely even bothered to talk much to Rose these days because he was tired of always being the one to initiate conversation when she was clearly uninterested. He also didn't care why Victoire made her appearances, and he didn't bother to find out. He decided that if Rose wanted to talk to him about it, she would. As for the sex, that was just non-existent these days. They did it once after Rose's evening take-off, but she didn't seem to enjoy it much. He gave up after that. If she felt up to it, she'd come to him herself.

All in all, the two of them were slowly falling apart.

* * *

_Tap tap tap._

"I've got to go get the letter, Scorpius… oh!"

Glad that Rose was finally paying attention to him over that wretched owl, Scorpius worked his hands over her, teasing her, and thrilling her. At last, bit his lip and shut his eyes, and she gasped.

"Oh, Scorpius… oh, oh, my…"

_Tap tap tap._

Ignoring the owl again, Scorpius kissed Rose's jawline, and then her neck as she panted and writhed beneath him. He moved his own body in synchronisation with hers, earning more moans of pleasure. He groaned too, beads of sweat forming on his bare back and forehead, with the passionate effort of it all. He could feel her fingernails digging into his skin. "Oh… Scorpius…"

She gasped again, her body arching slightly, and her breaths coming faster and faster…

_Tap tap tap tap tap tap._

"Scorpius? Wake up. It's almost dinner time."

Scorpius woke up with a start and an all-too familiar feeling down his navel. The hospital had let him off early today, and he had collapsed on the bed as soon as he reached home.

Rose was standing at his bedside, and her eyes travelled to the obvious spot between his legs, her eyebrows rising at the sight there. Scorpius realised that the blanket had slipped off him at some point of his rather active dreaming and quickly pulled the comforter around him. "Er… sorry." He leaned against the headboard, the uncomfortable feeling down below still painfully apparent, and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. "Thanks for waking me up. I'll help you with dinner."

"I already made it," she said. "You seemed tired, so I didn't want to wake you."

"Thanks," he said. His arousal from the dream had receded now, but the silence was unnerving. "So… you're home tonight, are you?" he asked Rose.

She nodded. "I got let off early too."

"No kidding, how come?"

"I was taken ill at work."

He raised his eyebrows. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What was there to tell?" she asked him. "It was nothing big anyway. I just had a fainting spell. I hadn't had anything to eat-"

"Sure, it was nothing big," he said under his breath, his temper rising. "I do hope the bloke you're doing is _big_."

She heard it. "Say that again?"

He looked up at her, his eyes narrowing. He didn't care anymore. This was getting ridiculous. He was _pissed_ beyond words. He needed her to know exactly how he felt. "Well," he said acidly, "You seem to have more time for this _patient_ of yours than you do for me."

"I've just been busy," she said.

"Yeah, with exchanging letters."

"This person needs my help, Scorpius! What do you suggest I do?"

He pulled away the comforter and sat up properly. "I suggest you counsel them the_normal_ way."

She put her hands on her hips. "This _is_ normal."

"Really? You could have fooled me."

She ran her hand through her red curls. "Scorpius, don't complicate things."

"Fine!" he said, throwing up his arms. "I won't complicate anything. I'll just leave, shall I?"

Her jaw dropped. "What's wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong with _me_? _You're_ the one who's been sleeping with her patient!"

_"What?"_ Her eyes had widened. Her mouth opened and shut many times. "Where - where is that even coming from?" she whispered.

"Oh, don't act as though you don't know," he snarled. "The letters, the 'extra time at work'… and of course, your history of dating patients…"

A hand clasped her mouth and tears filled her eyes. "I can't believe you'd say that. I can't believe-"

"Yeah? Believe it, then!" he said, blinking back his own tears. "I should have known that this was a wrong step. But with all the drinking and the grief about Amber-" A tear fought all his resolve and made its way down his cheek at the memory of his daughter.

Tears were streaming down Rose's face now, falling freely and bringing down black trails of mascara with them. "What haven't I done for you?" she whispered, wiping away the tears roughly, so that they left black stains on her cheeks. "I love you! Even today, I saw that you seemed tired, and I wasn't even well-"

"I never asked you to do any of those things," said Scorpius, swiping at his own eyes, and taking deep breaths to prevent more tears from spilling out. "You don't have to do my chores for me, or go out of your way for anything! I love you too, Rose. But can't we talk? Just for a while?"

She sniffed and nodded. "Okay." She sat down next to him. "I'm not cheating on you. You have to believe me."

"Then what-?"

"I can't tell you," she said. "Healer-patient confidentiality."

"Then what's the matter with us?" he asked her. "What's going wrong here?"

She hesitated and bit her lip. "I'm not sure. I feel like this relationship-" The doorbell rang suddenly, interrupting her mid-sentence. She stood up. "Got to get that."

"Don't kid me, Rose, we're in the middle of a fucking talk."

"But it's Vic-"

_"Fine,"_ he said, not letting her finish the sentence. He stood up too. "Fine."

Her eyes widened as she read the expression on his face. "Scorpius…"

"You know what?" he said. "You can go talk to Victoire. You can go talk to that other patient of yours too; maybe sleep with him like you did me, if that's not already happening-"

"That's not fair!"

"Nothing is," he retorted. "But I'm done here. I'm leaving."

She broke down. "Please, Scorpius… we'll t-talk…"

"I'm sorry," he said, "but your priorities are clear to me." He went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a robe. "I'll be gone in the morning. Your cousin doesn't need to see any of this."

She didn't argue, and he grit his teeth against the next wave of tears. Why couldn't she fucking argue? Why couldn't she say, that they could start fresh? Why was she just standing there, crying, and saying nothing? He loved her, for fuck's sake, and she said she did too. Wasn't this worth fighting for?

The doorbell rang again, and Rose wiped away her tears, sniffing slowly and still looking at him. She stood there for an unsure moment but before she could leave the room to get it, Scorpius had walked out. "Good, I'll answer the door, and leave straight from there," he muttered, and she heard it.

"Scorpius!" she came after him, following him, but he didn't stop. "Scorpius, please!"

She followed him to the living room and halted behind him as he reached the door and opened it. A beautiful blond woman stood outside, her face streaked with tears. "Is Rose here?" Victoire Lupin asked Scorpius, and despite his anger, he realised that this was the first time he had seen her up close, and that she was gorgeous.

"Vic?" Rose called out from behind Scorpius. She had managed to magic away the stains of her own tears and mascara, and she gasped when she saw Victoire's tears. "What's wrong?"

"I-I think we're getting a d-divorce," replied the other woman, breaking down and rushing over to Rose, who enclosed her in a hug. Rose looked up at Scorpius and then looked away.

"It's going to be okay, Vic. Teddy won't-"

"He will," replied Victoire. "It's not okay… I don't know what to do!"

"Well," said Scorpius, before Rose could reply, "what you _could_ do, Vic, would be to not cheat on your husband and talk to him about your problem, rather than avoiding it. Am I right, Rose?"

Rose's lips quivered as Victoire turned slowly to Scorpius. He shrugged. "Oh, I forgot. This is Rose's job. She has time for this, apparently, even on the days that she's ill." Victoire was still looking at him with shock in her stunning eyes.

"I should leave," Scorpius shrugged. "That's what Rose wants anyway."

Not looking back at the two women, Scorpius left the flat, seating himself on the stairs outside and burying his face in his hands. If Rose claimed to love him but couldn't even attempt to salvage what they had, there was no use for him to try. It was very evident that he loved Rose more than she loved him, and it was time to quit. He, Scorpius Malfoy, was giving up on his relationship.

"What's wrong with him?" he heard Victoire ask Rose concernedly. "Everything okay between you two?"

"No," Rose replied, her voice thick. "I think we may have just broken-up."

Rose had given up on them too. It was over.

**Chapter End Notes**:

* * *

So, what do you think? Reviews are love! :D

Oh, and I did write some Scortoire in chapter 2. They'll work, but ScoRose is love. I wish I could claim Rose, but she disappeared in the beginning of the challenge. :(


	2. The Last Straw

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

Hello!

This chapter has been modified to the beta'ed version. Thank you, Wren!

This was getting late even otherwise, but thanks to Jess and Maple, it's in control, so I'd really like to huggle them tight. :)

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Last Straw**

Scorpius was sleep deprived. He hadn't slept the entire night that he and Rose had split up, and he had had to go on-call the next day. This amounted to almost forty-eight hours with no sleep, and he was surprised that he was still vertical at this state. The way he had worked, though, not a soul could guess that he actually hadn't slept a wink in the last two days.

"That's done, then, Malfoy. You can leave."

The words were like music to his ears. Trying not to look too happy, Scorpius rushed to the Healers' lounge to collect his things, hoping to reach The Leaky Cauldron as quick as possible, and sleep for the next few hours.

He staggered from the exhaustion at work,and almost lost his balance as he Apparated into the Leaky Cauldron. Rubbing his eyes, he said hello to Mrs Longbottom and started to walk up to his room, but then he was interrupted by an all-too familiar voice. "You're drunk."

Raising his eyebrows, he turned to the owner of the voice - Rose. "What are you doing here?" he asked her. Victoire had come along with Rose too, and she was staring unsurely at Scorpius. Scorpius, however, tore his eyes off the latter and concentrated on Rose. "It's none of your business if I'm drunk or not."

She sighed. "Come home."

"Why? The new bloke much more thrilling in secret is he?"

"Don't be unreasonable. Come home."

He tried not to lose his temper. "You don't own me."

"Scorpius," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, which he immediately shook away.

"Don't touch me."

"Talk to me properly."

"I _am_ talking to you in the most proper way I can think of," Scorpius argued.

"You're bloody _drunk!_" She growled.

"I'm not fucking drunk, okay?" he replied, baring his teeth at her. Calming down, he shrugged. "Why am I arguing with you when I can just return to my room?" He shook his head, starting to walk away. "Besides," he said, turning around, "the last time I got drunk, I slept with you. You'd think I'd know by now that getting drunk is a mistake. What if I end up with someone like you again?"

Seeing the tears in Rose's eyes but wilfully ignoring them, Scorpius walked away to his room. He didn't care anymore. He _couldn't_ care anymore. He just knew that he really needed to move on. But how he would do that, he had no clue.

* * *

Victoire had never seen Rose so distressed. The latter was a strong woman, rarely vulnerable, and always very composed and understanding. That was why Victoire was able to talk to her about her collapsed marriage; Rose always seemed to have words of comfort to offer. For the last two days, however, Victoire found herself returning to Rose's flat to reciprocate the huge favour. She wanted to be there for her cousin during this time, irrespective of the fact that that she was going through a similar phase in her own marriage.

Rose wiped her eyes as they reached her flat. They'd gone the Leaky Cauldron for a change of atmosphere, but neither had expected Scorpius to turn up there. But then, Victoire thought, they should have realised that he'd be staying there temporarily. Seeing him and then talking to him had just upset Rose more. He was being unreasonably rude to her.

"I'm sorry, Vic," Rose sniffled, as she sat on her couch. "We - we're supposed to be talking about you and Teddy…"

Victoire sat next to her and put her arm around the younger woman's shoulder. "Let's talk about Scorpius."

"There's nothing to talk about," choked Rose. "You saw how he behaved."

"And that wasn't fair," said Victoire. "You should tell him."

"He's so stubborn…"

"You were his psychiatric Healer a year ago, Rosie. Don't tell me you don't know how to calm him down."

Rose shook her head. "It was different then. I was trying to get him to talk about what upset him. I knew what it was - he just needed to talk to me and accept it. Right now, I'm not even sure what's wrong…"

"I gathered that he seems to think that you're cheating on him," pointed out Victoire.

"Yeah…" sighed Rose. "I don't know how to convince him that what he thinks is not true."

"What made him think that you're cheating on him?"

"Well, there's this patient," said Rose, "and he's going through a lot. He writes to me even after sessions."

"So?"

"Scorpius thinks I'm dating him."

"Then you can just show him a letter-"

"I can't," Rose interrupted her. "Healer-patient confidentiality."

"Scorpius is a Healer too," said Victoire. "I'm sure it's all right to show him the letters."

"I can't, Vic," said Rose. She looked away. "He… he knows the patient."

Victoire frowned. "Who is it?"

Rose shrugged. "It's confidential."

"Is it his ex-wife?" Victoire asked, but then realised that Rose had mentioned that the person was a 'he'. She bit her lip. "Can I help, Rosie?"

"I don't think so," whispered Rose, looking dejected. "It looks like it might be over for good." A few more tears fell out of her eyes. "I love him so much…"

Victoire pulled her into a hug. "Can _I_ try talking to him?"

"You don't even know him," said Rose. "Besides, I don't want him to be rude to you."

"He won't," said Victoire. "Shall I-?"

"It's best you don't," Rose replied. "If this is where it has to finish…" She looked into her cousin's eyes. "We should really talk about you. I'm being selfish-"

"Shut up!" interrupted Victoire. "You listen to other people's complaints night and day. You deserve someone to listen to you."

Rose smiled wanly at her. "Thanks."

Victoire hugged once again. "Now, it's your turn to talk to me. Today, there's going to be nothing about me and Teddy."

"No, Vic-"

"I insist."

"Okay…"

* * *

Victoire made her way out of Rose's house, her heart heavy. Her cousin was really fond of Scorpius, and that bloody arse seemed to intent on ruining their relationship. Rose had been very upset that she couldn't spare much time for Scorpius in the last few days and how that had been one of the things affecting their break-up. She really wished she could make it up to Scorpius, who was just too stubborn to listen to her.

Victoire walked alone in the darkness for a while when she had an idea. She wasn't sure if it would work or not, but she was determined to find out. Looking around and balling her fists, she turned on her heel and Disapparated into the darkness.

* * *

Scorpius slumped on his bed sadly. He disliked being mean to Rose, but every time he saw her, an insane amount of anger rose in him. He _hated_ her for what she'd done to him; for the fact that she hadn't tried to fight for their relationship or even try to prove to him that she wasn't cheating on him. It only meant that she had fallen out of love with him and was with somebody else.

But he loved Rose so much.

"Mr Malfoy?"

A face sprang up in the fire before him, and Scorpius almost jumped up. "Huh?" It was Mrs Longbottom. "Oh - oh… Mrs Longbottom," he said, still a little startled.

"Sorry if I've disturbed you," she said apologetically. "You have a visitor."

He frowned. "Who?"

"Victoire Lupin."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. What had she come for? "You can send her in," he told Mrs Longbottom, whose face vanished from the fire. Scorpius, in the meantime, stood up from the bed and walked over to the window.

Victoire Lupin. Rose's beautiful cousin. He wondered what she had to say to him.

There was a knock at the door, and he turned around. "Come in."

The door opened and Victoire entered. The first thing that Scorpius noticed about her was the fierce determination that seemed to reflect off every surface of her. Her lovely face was in a firm frown. "I need to talk to you."

"Er," Scorpius went forward and held out his hand. Something about this woman wasn't normal. Surely, such pretty women didn't exist? But she did was standing right before him. He realised that his jaw had dropped. Taking a deep breath and composing himself, he stretched the hand further ahead. "Scorpius Malfoy."

She didn't take it. He was a little thankful she didn't because he didn't want to feel her hand. "You know me," she replied to him, "so I'm not bothering. Can we talk?"

He gestured to his bed and dragged a chair over. Was Victoire a Veela? He had seen many pretty women but had never been so flabbergasted his entire life.

"My great-grandmother was a Veela," said Victoire, almost reading his mind. "So you can stop staring."

"S-Sorry," he replied, embarrassed. He looked away for a moment, and then at her again, concentrating on what he had to say. "So…"

"I'm here to talk about Rose," she said. "You didn't treat her right just now."

Rose. Right. He took a deep breath. How hadn't he seen this coming? "That's really between me and Rose," he pointed out to Victoire. "I don't think this is your place-"

"Oh, please," she said, narrowing her eyes. "After all the drama that you created in front of me, don't expect me to stay quiet."

"It's still private," he insisted.

"And I'm not here to counsel you," she snapped. "I just think you should be civil to my cousin."

"You have no idea-"

"Rose has told me," she replied. "I know _everything_."

"Great," he said. "So what are you here to say? She's not cheating on me? She meant to give the relationship more time, but just _couldn't_?"

Victoire opened her mouth in response but shut it and looked as though she were at a loss for words. Scorpius smirked at this. "I thought so."

"No," Victoire finally retorted, determined not to let him win. "I was about to tell you that you're wrong. She's not cheating on you. The letters are from a patient who needs her."

"Right," said Scorpius. "And did she tell you who that was? Did she show you the letter?"

"Healer-patient confidentiality."

"Sure," he said. "That's convenient, isn't it?" Once he had got over Victoire's striking beauty, he could see that she was really hopeless at arguing. It was no wonder that she wasn't able to convince her husband not to divorce her.

Scorpius folded his arms. "Look, Victoire," he said, "I think you should sort out your marital problems with _my_ cousin first, and then we can discuss your own cousin."

"That's got nothing to do with this," she hissed.

"But you're obviously incapable of handling your own relationships. I don't see how you think you can advise me. What's the matter with Lupin - does he think you're cheating too?"

She stood up, balling her fists so that her knuckles went white, "What happened between me and Teddy is none of your business."

"And neither is what happened between me and Rose," said Scorpius. "So I'd appreciate it if you tried not to interfere. Go try to convince Lupin not to leave you instead of wasting your time here."

A tear leaked out of Victoire's eye, and he sighed, feeling sorry. He didn't mean to remind her of her divorce. "Go home," he said, "Talk to your husband. Let me and Rose sort this out." He softened. "I know how hard a divorce can be."

The tears were gone, and she laughed harshly. "Really? It was hard for _you_? Did you even understand family?"

Scorpius looked away. He hated being reminded of it. Millie. Amber… "You should just go home," he told Victoire, as flashes of memories involving his infant daughter started to flood his mind.

"Sure, I'll go," she said, making her way to the door. "Rose is right. You're stubborn, and it's useless to even talk to you." She turned the knob and opened the door, vanishing with a last, vehement glance at him as Scorpius glanced after her, wondering when he'd see her again. She was so pretty, it was a shame for Lupin that they were getting divorced.

He needn't have wondered about getting to meet Victoire again, for she came back the next day. But this time, it was not about Rose. "You say you've been through divorce," she whispered to him in a choked-up voice when he opened the door for her. "I… need to talk to someone who can… empathise, rather than just sympathise."

He knew that she didn't find Rose's words comforting enough. That was exactly how he'd felt, and he explained that to Victoire. They spoke for a long time that evening, and after that, Victoire came to talk to Scorpius every day.

* * *

"I don't know why Teddy won't understand that I'm not ready for kids."

Victoire sat in Scorpius's room at the Leaky Cauldron, staring at her hands as she spilled out her problems to him. She felt guilty about showing up to his room every day and discussing the divorce. It felt like she was cheating on Teddy, but this wasn't cheating, was it? She was just talking about her feelings to someone apart from Rose.

But was this an emotional affair? What would Rose or Teddy say if she told them that she'd been talking to Scorpius?

_Fuck it,_ she thought. Teddy didn't seem to care these days. He was away from home most of the time, sometimes at work, sometimes arranging for the divorce papers. One fight, which started with Victoire's refusal to have children anytime soon, had expanded so much, that they'd started to find even living together in the same house difficult. But Victoire didn't know why Teddy wanted kids _right now_. He gave her a lame reason about how she'd be thirty in two years' time, and how a pregnancy would be dangerous, but Victoire knew many women who'd given birth at that age, and were completely fine. Teddy was just being extremely unreasonable and finicky.

She and Scorpius started bonding over the next few days. The common topic of divorce brought them closer, and Victoire considered the reason for his ex-wife, Millie, to divorce him equally unbelievable. She couldn't see how the death of their daughter, Amber, had been Scorpius's fault, and she sympathised with him.

Victoire could tell that Scorpius was starting to get attracted to her, though. She knew he'd grown attracted to Rose when he'd started to discuss his problems with her, and he seemed to have a weakness for women who managed to see his vulnerable side. It was like he had to have all those women - asif he didn't have them, word would get out that he could be vulnerable too. Several times, Victoire had pretended to ignore Scorpius's attempts to kiss her or to hold her hand, and she subtly reminded him that she was still married and that she loved Teddy, no matter what was happening between them.

Seeing Rose was a rarity these days. Victoire realised that Rose herself had pulled herself into a cave of-sorts. She was more moody and distracted now, and Victoire wished she didn't have to hide her and Scorpius's friendship from Rose.

A month passed, and Scorpius moved into a flat which he rented with the help of his father. Victoire continued to visit him continuously, and they were very good friends, if nothing else. Scorpius hinted on several occasions that he wanted something more, and Victoire found him somewhat attractive, but she still loved Teddy. The feeling that maybe, just maybe, Teddy would come and tell her one day that their divorce was unnecessary, just wouldn't get out of Victoire's mind. Maybe if it weren't for the hopes that Teddy would fall back in love with her, Victoire might have been considerably attracted to Scorpius by now, and they'd be more than just friends.

But it wasn't like that. Teddy still probably loved Victoire.

One day, she and Scorpius were sitting in his flat, munching on a few crisps. She came here every day now, irrespective of whether she was happy or sad, and today was one of the happier days. Teddy had given her a smile in the morning.

"You do know that it probably means nothing, right?" Scorpius asked her.

"I can always hope," Victoire replied to him. "Teddy was madly in love with me once upon a time."

He sighed. "Vic…"

"I know you think I'm delusional," she told him. "But… I can't let it go, Scorpius!"

"So you prefer to live with just hopes, rather than be with someone whom you can actually share something meaningful with?" he asked her, hurt. She knew he was talking about himself.

She bit her lip. "It's not that you're not an amazing person-"

"- but I'm not Teddy," he finished for her. "Don't you want to at least try someone different?"

"At the moment, I really can't imagine that," she said honestly.

"You needn't imagine; you need just try."

Merlin, he was persistent. Victoire decided to try something else. "I'm older than you," she pointed out. "Considerably." _Six years._

It was a futile argument, she realised, as he replied to her, "I really didn't think that would matter. We've bonded so much."

What was there to say? She sighed again. "Scorpius…" His grey eyes were looking at her expectantly. "Give me time, okay?" she said.

"As much as you'd like," replied to her, and he looked relieved at this answer. She regretted this. She should have just said 'no'.

She stood up. "I have to leave," she told him. "I have a few things to do."

"Okay," he replied to her, standing up too. "See you."

She hesitated for a moment before going over and hugging him. "Bye," she whispered sadly. Her heart was heavy as she Apparated back home. She hated that she had given Scorpius false hope, but she didn't know how to rectify it now.

Teddy was at the dining table when Victoire entered their home. He was writing something, but he looked up from the letter when he saw her. "Hey."

Her heart jumped with happiness. She wanted to hug him tight. She wanted to kiss him till they were both out of breath. She wanted to take him to the bedroom and -

"I've got something," he said grimly, producing an envelope from between the stack of parchment. He gestured to the chair beside his.

Victoire felt as though a bolt of lightning had just fallen on her. She could see the seal of the Ministry very clearly from where she was standing, and she knew what this was. A lump formed in her throat. "Teddy, give me another chance… please…"

"We both know that it's best to finish it here, Vic," he said sadly.

"We'll have a child next year. Give me one year-"

"It's not about that," he said simply, and she knew what he was talking about. They weren't exactly acting like a married couple anymore. They'd stopped talking long ago. It was ages even since they had so much as acknowledged each other properly. Victoire knew full well that the marriage had collapsed ages ago. Willing herself not to cry, she took a seat next to him.

"Where do I sign?"

He opened the envelope and pulled out a sheaf of parchment, but while he did that, Victoire's eyes fell on the parchment he was writing on.

_Dear Rose…_

Her eyes widened. _What?_

Teddy handed a quill to Victoire. "You just have to sign over the little crosses."

She didn't take the quill; she was just staring at him in horror. "Please, Vic," he said, taking her silence for a reluctance to sign.

"Since when have you been writing to Rose?" she asked him.

He looked at the parchment. "A while now. Did she say-?"

"No," said Victoire. "And she didn't need to. You two have been manipulating me."

"What?" he said, bewildered. "What would we manipulate you for?"

"She's _my_ cousin, Teddy!" Victoire burst out.

"She's just been helping me get through, Vic," said Teddy. "It's been difficult for me too."

"Of course, she's been _helping_ you," Victoire muttered. "She must have thought that this was her chance."

"I really don't know what you're taking about," said Teddy gently. "Calm down-"

"I'm _not_ about to calm down," Victoire said between gritted teeth. "She used to have a crush on you two years ago! Did you know that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "That's quite irrelevant, but… Okay. If you say so."

"She's been trying to get you!"

"That's rubbish. She's just helping me!"

"Yeah, sure," said Victoire, her mind spinning with all sorts of thoughts. She grabbed Teddy's quill and turned to the divorce papers, signing against all the crosses. She thought her head would split with the amount of anger that was in it. Finally, when she had finished signing, she threw the quill at the table and stood up.

"I'm leaving. Good luck with Rose. I should have known that Scorpius was right about the affair."

"What has Malfoy got to do with any of this?" she heard Teddy ask as she left, but she didn't reply. She just stormed out of the house and turned on her heel.

She appeared outside Scorpius's flat, her face still hot with anger as she rapped at his door. He opened it immediately and before he could react, she had cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.

* * *

**Chapter End Notes**:

Any thoughts would be absolutely lovely! :D


	3. White Flag

**Author's Chapter Notes:**

I'd like to thank Carole for answering a rather awkward set of questions for me regarding the smut in this chapter. :D

And everyone seems to be speechless at my awesomeness with this fic (and I'm flattered), but, ha, reviews would be appreciated more (I'm a little dull that way).

**GUEST REVIEW RESPONSE:** Um, I can't moderate your review yet... but you may or may not be a Legilimens. I'll definitely display your review for the others when I post chapter four though. I finished it on Sunday, and it should be up as soon as it's validated on MNFF. You'll know why I'm waiting to moderate your review, once you read the next chapter (and I really hope you'll come back). Thank youuu! :)

* * *

**Chapter 3: White Flag**

Scorpius ran his hands through Victoire's silky hair, kissing her repeatedly on her chin, her cheeks, the corners of her mouth, and then fiercely crashing his lips onto hers. She let out a satisfied groan and let his tongue into her mouth. The little pendent of the necklace she wore rubbed against Scorpius's skin in the same rhythm as her body movements, and his hands held on to her bare back as he enjoyed every second thoroughly.

A minute later, they broke apart, both letting out simultaneous, happy gasps, and Scorpius bit his lip as Victoire's movements became more and more vigorous and urgent, sending them both into a frenzy. Finally, she let out a last gasp and Scorpius shut his eyes. They groaned in unison, clutching on to each other, gasping, and groaning, and gasping again, until it ended with bursts of extreme pleasure. Once they could both catch their breath, Victoire bent forward again so they could kiss once more. It was a quick kiss this time, and when they'd pulled apart, Victoire collapsed onto him, pressing her cheek against his bare chest.

Her small body, drenched entirely in sweat, was cuddled up against his, and he enclosed her tightly in his arms as she turned around and buried her face into his chest. He could feel her breaths, still uneven from a minute ago, and her hands were on his shoulders, clutching to him tightly. Finally, as she rolled over and pulled the blanket around herself, Scorpius thought he heard a sob.

He turned around, resting his head against his arm, to see her looking up at him with tears in her eyes. He traced his hand on her face and wiped them away. "What is it, Vic?"

She shook her head as he pulled the blanket around himself and wiggled closer to her. She threw an arm around him. "Do you think this is right, Scorpius?"

"I see nothing wrong," he replied. "We like each other…"

"Will they think we're doing it for revenge?" she asked him.

"They have no right to say anything," muttered Scorpius, Victoire's revelation about Rose and Teddy still annoying him.

She took his hand in hers. "Are _you_ doing it for revenge?"

"I'm honestly not," he replied, squeezing her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it softly. "You're beautiful."

She smiled, tears forming in her eyes again. "I can't remember Teddy saying that to me in ages, you know."

"He's an idiot to let go of you."

"And so is Rose," she replied. "But if this means we've got each other…"

He smiled at this as she came closer, snuggling against him, and he found himself falling asleep again as he held her tightly against himself.

Victoire was happy to be free again. The last few months had been like being trapped inside a pressure cooker because of all the tension and fights between her and Teddy. Splitting with him had been hard, of course, especially after Victoire had found out about how he'd been writing to Rose all along.

She had told Scorpius that it was Teddy that Rose was cheating with, even though she knew it wasn't technically _cheating_. Still, it was like an emotional affair - like the one she'd thought she shared with Scorpius before signing the divorce papers. The only difference was that she and Scorpius had shared whatever it was after their respective split-ups, but Teddy and Rose had been doing it for a long time, though they might have not meant for it to get to this. That was what had really angered Victoire, when she actually thought about it.

She knew she had been unreasonable, talking about Rose's old, unimportant crush on Teddy, and that her cousin was trying to seduce him when she knew it wasn't true. Rose had been very much in love with Scorpius for a while now, and it wasn't fair to accuse her that way. But it had all come out in a fit of annoyance, and Victoire didn't know how to repair it. She could tell that Rose had heard of this because the last time they had met, the latter had pretended to ignore Victoire and walked away.

As for Scorpius, Victoire knew he wouldn't understand if she told him that the affair was purely emotional. Men rarely understood these things, and Scorpius would be much happier not knowing.

Was she being a bitch? Victoire didn't think so. She was just trying to salvage the situation now; she was trying to repair it. She and Scorpius were attracted to each other (she'd taken a while to actually get attracted to him, but it had happened when they'd shagged for the first time). Teddy and Rose were closer to each other than their respective better halves. In order to tackle with the imbalance, this had to be done.

Scorpius felt lucky to have met Victoire. She was a wonderful person, and she understood him perfectly. With her, it was like all the sorrows of his life just drowned away - he could forget about everything for a while and just hold her in his arms and talk to her.

They spoke a lot. They were both in a lot of pain, and it felt nice to let go sometimes. Scorpius just adored the moments when they'd stay up in bed and talk, or when she'd cuddle up to him on the couch and let him breathe in the sweet scent of her hair, or when she'd creep up beside him when he was asleep and play with his hair. It was a boon to have her, and he didn't miss Rose anymore.

No, that was a lie. He missed Rose like crazy. But he reckoned he'd get over it, just the way Victoire would eventually get over Teddy. These things didn't happen over a few weeks, and they'd both have to be very patient about it all.

_Tap tap tap._

Scorpius sat up on his bed, startled. Victoire, who was lying next to him, sat up too. "Are you getting it?"

He turned to her, the traumatic times flooding his memories little-by-little. She raised an eyebrow. "I'll get it then."

She got off the bed and pulled on a robe to wrap her frame. Scorpius followed her dully, waiting for the impatient owl…

"I think it's Rose," said Victoire, as they reached the living room. Scorpius couldn't see an owl at the window, but Victoire was already heading to the door. "She's the only person who taps at the door, instead of knocking."

It wasn't the owl. It was Rose. Scorpius wondered if there was a measure to the number of bad memories it took for a sound to startle someone in this way. He stopped at the hallway as Victoire opened the door.

"Vic?!"

Scorpius frowned and walked over to see Rose standing in the doorway, her jaw almost touching the floor. Her eyes swivelled over to Scorpius, and she opened her mouth to say something but couldn't.

"We don't have all day, you know," Scorpius prompted Rose.

She shut her mouth and pulled her lips inwards, before nodding. "I should've known." Neither Victoire nor Scorpius replied to this. The latter just folded his arms across his chest.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk," she said simply. "But now I see that it's of no use."

"It was never of any use," Scorpius snapped at her.

Her lips quivered. "I'm leaving then. Enjoy yourselves."

"We were and definitely will," said Scorpius. "So thank you for being kind enough to leave. Say hello to Lupin for me."

She didn't reply to this, just stumbled away as Victoire shut the door behind her, looking slightly sad herself.

"Don't feel sorry for her," said Scorpius, noticing Victoire's expression. "She knows how to manipulate everyone. In all probability, she was looking to manipulate us too."

"She didn't look well," said Victoire sadly. "I'm supposed to be her cousin, Scorpius, and this is what I'm doing to her…"

"Hey," said Scorpius, enclosing Victoire in his arms. "She's been doing the same to us, Vic. Don't feel bad about this. She should know how it feels too."

"I guess," sighed Victoire. She looked really guilt-ridden about something, so Scorpius took her by her hand to the bedroom. When they had shed off their robes and when Scorpius took Victoire into his arms again, everything seemed to be much, much better.

Scorpius picked up a file and peeked into it. _Nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting._Tucking it under his arm, he proceeded to the examination room. A bout of gastroenteritis seemed to be going around the wizarding community, and this was probably just another case of it.

He pushed open the door to the examination room. "Lie down, fold your legs at your knees," he instructed his patient as he drew out a pair of gloves from a cardboard box. But as he turned around to his patient, he realised that it was Teddy Lupin.

He didn't let the gasp escape him. Instead, he went over to Teddy, and pulled up the latter's shirt. "Deep breath."

"Had Rose come over-?"

"Please don't talk. Breathe deep."

Teddy took a deep breath as Scorpius pulled down his trousers slightly and started to press down at his belly, starting from the bony protrusion of his hip and continuing upwards. He couldn't feel anything, but as he proceeded to write this down on the paper, Teddy spoke again. "Er-"

"How many episodes of vomiting?"

"Er… I didn't count," said Teddy. "But listen-"

"Food or just bile and acid?"

"Eh?" asked Teddy. "Food, I reckon… why is this important?"

"Healer stuff," Scorpius replied to him, not sure how much longer he could avoid talking to Teddy about Rose and Victoire. "How's the pain?" he asked Teddy again.

"Bad."

"No, is it continuous or intermittent? Is it dull, sharp, or a pulsating kind of pain?"

"Do I have gastrowhatsit?" Teddy asked Scorpius, sighing.

"I don't know yet-"

"I saw you scribbling that out a minute before the weird questions started."

"It's a provisional-"

"There's nothing between me and Rose, Malfoy."

Teddy was tired. It was done. Scorpius gave up on the sheet and looked up at his cousin. "So are you saying that Vic is lying?"

"She's just presuming too much. Look, I don't even talk to Rose anymore."

"Good for you."

Teddy looked hurt. "How is Vic doing?"

"She's doing better without you, Lupin," said Scorpius. "She says she feels free."

Teddy's hair colour changed into a sickly green as he nodded. "So she's better off without me?"

"She is."

Teddy's face was the same colour as his hair. "I… don't feel good." He got off the bed sadly. "I'm going home. Can you prescribe me my potions?"

Scorpius wrote him the prescription and tore off the parchment. Teddy took it and headed out of the room, but before he was out of the door, he stopped. "Vic does have a habit of overreacting, you know."

Scorpius nodded. "Go home. You need rest."

But Teddy turned around, his hair colour changing into purple. He didn't look all that sick anymore. "I know her better than you do. You were probably only ten when we got together."

"You're wrong about knowing her," Scorpius remarked.

"Well, I do know her," Teddy insisted. "Way better than you do. She makes a lot of hasty decisions."

"You fought with her over something she ought to have the veto power over."  
"You do realise that she's twenty-eight, right?" Teddy asked Scorpius. "And I may not be a Healer, but I know it takes ages to conceive sometimes. And I also know that pregnancy can be risky beyond the age of thirty."

"You still shouldn't have forced her," retorted Scorpius. "It can be really bad for the woman if she's not mentally prepared."

"Yeah, and I was an idiot too," Teddy agreed. "I didn't let it stop at that. I fought with her over a lot of things, too. But you know… I really love her."

"What do you want me to do?" Scorpius asked him. "You should have thought of this earlier. She's with me now."

"Yeah," said Teddy. "And you two need to sit together and talk about what you really want."

"We have what we really want."

"No," said Teddy. "You both love different people."

Scorpius was frustrated. "Did Rose put you up to this?"

"No," said Teddy. "She doesn't know I'm talking to you. I told you - we don't talk much now."

"So what do you want me to do?" said Scorpius hotly. "Have you even considered that Victoire and I might _genuinely_ like each other?"

"I don't doubt that," said Teddy. "I know she might have wanted someone to empathise with her situation."

"So? Do you think we're going to be sacrificial lambs for the sake of you and Rose, then?"

"I don't expect that," Teddy replied, "but you should think about what I said."

"Sure," muttered Scorpius.

Teddy made to walk away for real, but then, he turned to Scorpius again. "Oh, and please don't tell Vic about our conversation. She'll just over-think it. This is a request."

Scorpius nodded at him and threw away his gloves, thinking about everything that Teddy had said. Was his cousin right? Was Scorpius and Victoire's relationship just a product of bitterness and physical attraction, rather than something more solid?

Well, the sex was definitely lovely, but Scorpius knew he enjoyed Victoire's company as well. He liked being with her and talking to her.

But what did they generally talk about? It was mostly just how they'd both been left heartbroken, wasn't it? Had they ever had a normal chat, like a playful banter, or a discussion about something trivial… like music? Had they enjoyed each other's companies for the sake of something other than empathy?

_No,_ said a small voice in Scorpius's head.

And then, there was Teddy. _"But you know… I really love her."_

If there was one thing that Scorpius was sure of, it was that he didn't love Victoire. Whom did he love then? He had loved Millie and Rose at different points of his life, but there was no one now.

However, Victoire still loved Teddy. Scorpius was very sure of this. He couldn't really ignore that she spoke about him a lot and seemed very concerned about him. He had thought that it was a phase, and it would go, but who was he kidding? Victoire would ultimately want to go back to her former husband. She was just angry at him; she hadn't fallen out of love with him. So that left Scorpius alone… again.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Scorpius barely knew what he was doing, and he was happy to leave for home at the end of the day. All he wanted to do now was talk to Victoire. He had to let her realise that she had to go back to Teddy and that she and Scorpius were deluding themselves by thinking that there would be a real relationship between them.

Victoire was already back from work when Scorpius reached his flat. They weren't living together, but with the frequency at which they stayed over at each other's places, they could have been.

Victoire was ready with a hug when Scorpius entered the flat. "How was your day?" she asked, as she wound her slender arms around him.

He didn't reply, and she looked a little bewildered as he pulled away. But what bewildered her more was the thing he said after that.

"Vic, I think you still love Teddy. You should go back to him."

* * *

**Chapter End Notes:**

Any thoughts? Do share them!


	4. He Knows Why They Smile

**Author's Chapter Notes**

Thank you, Wren, for the speedy beta work!

After days of sitting up late and almost not waking up on time for college, this is done. I shall go back to sleeping in peace now. :)

Oh, and the Rose-Victoire muddle in the initial part of the chapter is intentional. You'll know why, hahaha.

This story is officially complete. Do take a minute and have a look at the cover I created for it! I quite like Alex Pettyfer, hehe.

Thank you for reading. Guest reviews will be replied to at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4: He Knows Why They Smile**

_Scorpius sipped on a glass of Firewhiskey as he sat alone at his small dining table. He was extremely tired. This had been the longest day of his life - there had been so of stress, pain and confusion, and it had been so taxing. His head was in a muddle over everything, and he didn't know what to think or how to go on. But he knew that what had just happened was for the best, even though he didn't like it right now. He knew he'd feel much better about it later, and as he took another sip of Firewhiskey from the glass, his mind went back to the series of events that had transpired since his return from work._

_"Vic, I think you still love Teddy. You should go back to him."_

_Victoire looked surprised. "Where is this coming from?"_

_He shook his head. "I just think…" He remembered that Teddy had asked him not to tell Victoire about their conversation, so he justtook Victoire's hands in his. "I was thinking about what you told me about your divorce… You made a lot of hasty decisions, Vic."_

_She shook her head. "I did not, Scorpius, and I did not leave him because of the issue about having kids. That was the point where the arguments started, and then we managed to find a lot of other problems in the marriage."_

_"There are always problems in any marriage," said Scorpius. "No one is perfect. It's just a matter of how we deal with it. Patience is very important…"_

_"You know," she replied, "You're starting to sound like Rose."_

_He grinned. "She's probably rubbed off on me." Getting more serious, he took a deep breath. "Honestly, though, I think you were happier with him."_

_"Have you even seen how happy I am with you?" she asked Scorpius. "I feel wonderful - so free and peaceful. We understand each other, and-"_

_"- and there's really nothing else, Vic. This is just temporary. You love ****__Teddy__."_

_She sighed. "I don't know why you're saying that, but even if I do seem to care for him more than I should, it's because he and I just separated. It's going to take me some time to get used to not being with him."_

_"Vic, we have no future together."_

_Scorpius walked to the living room, and Victoire followed him in stunned silence. As they sat on the couch together, he told her about how he thought that they seemed to only be together because of the fact that they found each other facing similar situations. He asked her to go and talk to Teddy, and maybe give the marriage another chance. That was when she said something else._

_"I've got to confess something to you."_

_"What is it?" he asked her._

_Victoire looked into Scorpius's eyes. "I haven't been completely honest with you, you know."_

_"About…?"_

_"Teddy and Rose weren't having an affair. Not ****__that__ kind of an affair anyway."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Is there a classification for affairs?"_

_"No, no," she said, "Teddy and Rose had an emotional affair… not a physical one."_

_"I know what that is," said Scorpius. "So they weren't sleeping together?"_

_"Nope. Teddy confided a lot in Rose, though."_

_"Did Rose confide in him, too?"_

_"No."_

_Scorpius took a deep breath. "Vic, that's not an affair."_

_"How isn't it one?"_

_"Because Rose was just being a Healer," Scorpius folded his arms. "Why didn't you tell me?!"_

_"I thought you wouldn't understand."_

_"You should have tried, Vic…" He sighed. He knew he ought to be angry, but somehow, he felt oddly calm. This wasn't the moment to be angry. "See, this is why it's going all wrong with Teddy too. You gave up on him. You never give anything another try."_

_She smiled. "Why are you trying to be noble, Scorpius? I know that what you've heard from me makes Teddy sound as though he's miserable about this divorce, but he's honestly not."_

_"I'm not being noble," replied Scorpius, ignoring the part about Teddy. "I just want you to sort out your feelings for Teddy, so that I don't get hurt again if you leave."_

_He took a while to convince her about why he was right in wanting her to meet Teddy, and she finally left to meet her ex-husband, albeit reluctantly. When she left, Scorpius felt the annoyance creep up. It was as though all his anger and frustration had been waiting for Victoire to leave._

_What a terrible mistake he had made! He had just believed Victoire and hadn't even tried to find out if she had the right information. Teddy was right. Scorpius didn't know Victoire at all. She had a habit of over-thinking most things, and she had made a blunder in her own life. If Scorpius had really known Victoire, he'd have realised that she had a habit of jumping to conclusions, and all the mix-ups created by these misunderstandings would have been sorted out._

_Lastly, like Victoire, Scorpius had quit early too. He was a quitter… a loser. And for this, he was not even mad at Victoire. It was his own fault. He was a grown person who was capable of making his own decisions without having to be dependent on others._

_However, in this load of muddle, Victoire could easily sort out her issues. She only needed to talk to Teddy. What about Scorpius? He had just completely ruined any chance of getting back with Rose._

_Well… at least he wasn't in love anymore. It had been painful enough the two times he had experienced it. He still missed Millie sometimes, and he missed Rose even more. He craved her presence so often. And now it was all over. Just like that._

_After Victoire left, Scorpius went over and pulled out one of the bottles of Firewhiskey he'd been saving for special occasions and poured out a generous quantity of it into a glass_.

Scorpius drained his second glass and filled it another time, feeling immediately relieved as he took a sip of the cool, bitter liquid again. He'd have to talk to Rose and apologise, of course. He had been terrible to her for no reason other than the fact that he was paranoid. Victoire had mentioned that she was ill too; maybe he should ask her how she was feeling.

Another refill.

His head was spinning a little. He knew he should stop, but he couldn't think of doing that. There was an ache in him at the prospect of having lost both Rose and Victoire. But then, he'd see Rose again, when he'd go to apologise. She'd look pretty, as usual, and probably be a little upset that it was over.

But he liked Victoire, not Rose. Victoire was prettier… part-Veela. She was Teddy's, though. What would they be doing now? Would they get back together?

Yet another refill. He dropped a lot of the Firewhiskey on the table this time and could see two of everything. Putting his head in one of his hands, he used his other hand to hold the glass against his mouth.

He'd be so happy when he'd see Rose… no, Victoire again. But Rose was equally nice. They'd fought… but he and Victoire had had such a good time… Couldn't that last?

He seemed to be draining the glasses too soon. He put the empty glass aside and raised the bottle to his lips, taking large gulps, and only stopping when his stomach lurched. He put the bottle down and took deep breaths. His salivary glands were working at extra pace, and his stomach was very uncomfortable. He'd probably puke. Vomiting was a symptom of gastroenteritis, wasn't it? Teddy Lupin had that. Victoire's ex-husband. And Rose, no, Victoire, was so irresistibly beautiful. He really loved Rose.

"Scorpius?"

He turned around, to see two Roses, and two Victoires standing behind him, with bewildered expressions on their faces. He evidently hadn't heard Victoire's keys on the door.

"Oh God, are you drunk?" both of the Roses asked him.

He nodded, stood up, and could remember no more but the floor coming up to greet him.

* * *

Scorpius's eyes felt as though they were stuck together. His head was literally splitting. Someone could have beat it a hundred times, and it would still hurt less. Groaning, he opened an eye and immediately threw his arm over his eyes to protect them from the light. Another groan escaped him as his stomach started to churn dangerously.

There was a rustle from beside him. "Scorpius?"

"Too loud," he grumbled at the familiar voice.

"Is he awake?"

"Yeah."

There was yet more sound of movement. "Shut up," Scorpius muttered to Rose and Victoire.

"I'll get the potion," said Rose from beside him. She sounded irritated.

"Okay," replied Victoire, from somewhere below him. The door opened and then shut loudly. Scorpius winced.

After a while, he finally dared to open both his eyes to see that he was in his own bedroom. The curtains had been completely drawn, and yet, the light falling into the room seemed rather harsh. He was also on the bed, and the side beside him was empty but had been slept on.

"How do you feel?" asked Victoire's voice, and Scorpius realised that she'd probably used the air mattress.

"Awful," Scorpius replied to Victoire, sitting up. But it was the wrong step to take. Instantly, his stomach was heaving, and Victoire, having noticed this, handed him a bucket, standing up and patting his back as he dry-heaved painfully into the bucket.

"You threw up the entirety of your dinner last night," Victoire told him, helping him lie down once his stomach had settled a little. "You should eat something."

"Did you speak to Teddy?"

"Yes." She sighed.

"And?"

She hesitated. "Thank you for making me realise…and…" Her voice sounded a little throaty, "I'm sorry, Scorpius, it's all my fault."

"Don't apologise, Vic," he said, raising a hand and patting her cheek. "What's done is done. I'm just glad that it's sorted out for at least one of us."

She smiled, bending down and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Scorpius." There was silence, and they could hear Rose rummaging through the cabinet in Scorpius's guest room.

"How's Teddy feeling?" the latter asked, breaking the silence between him and Victoire, but mentally slapping himself as soon as he'd said it. Victoire wasn't supposed to know that he'd met Teddy.

"Oh, he's better; the potions worked. Hang on-" She seemed to have figured it out.

"I saw his file," said Scorpius, in a desperate attempt to salvage his blunder.

"Oh. Well, he's fine. I asked him to come over, though, in case he needed anything."

"He's here?" Scorpius asked Victoire.

"Yeah," she said. "He's asleep on the couch. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't. I bet he was thrilled that you, me, and Rose ended up in the same room, though."

"I was with him," replied Victoire. "I just came here a while ago in case Rose needed help."

"And how much did I embarrass myself?" Scorpius muttered to her, turning on his side.

Victoire pressed her lips together. "You should ask Rose."

"That bad?"

"Ask her yourself."

He lowered his voice. "Is she angry?"

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "What do you think?"

"Oh no."

"You did make it up to her, though," said Victoire.

"I did?"

Victoire winked at him. "Well, let's say, it started with a rather depressing bout of singing."

"Did I sing?"

"You brayed, actually. It was something about heartbreak. Original lyrics too."

Scorpius could feel the colour rise up his cheeks. "Wasn't I too drunk to be that idiotic when you came? Although I can only remember drinking about three glasses of Firewhiskey."

"You drank a lot more than that," said Victoire. "And then you fell down when you saw us. Rose thought you had passed out, but you began to laugh while punching the floor and called it your 'old friend'."

"Sounds just about right. What else?"

"Oh, we managed to get you to sit, and then you sang."

Rose entered the room just then with a potion vial and a spoon in her hand. Scorpius smiled at her, but she didn't return it. "Sit up."

He nodded and sat up, his head spinning dangerously again. Rose sat beside him and poured some potion into the spoon. Scorpius accepted, and as the thick liquid trickled down his throat, it seemed to relieve him a lot.

"Go to sleep and you should be better when you wake up," said Rose, putting the vial on his bedside cabinet. "If you still don't feel better, just take another spoonful." She looked at Victoire. "Are you staying back?"

"At least until Teddy wakes up," said Victoire.

"I'm leaving," Rose replied. "See you." Without a backward glance at Scorpius, she started to walk out.

"Wait," Scorpius called out to her.

She stopped but didn't turn around. "What?"

"I need to talk to you."

She turned around. "I made a mistake when we were together, but I've made it up to you by taking care of you. We're even, Scorpius."

"Please."

Victoire stood up. "Talk to him, Rosie. I'll be outside with Teddy."

She left the room, and Rose was torn between leaving and staying back and listening to Scorpius. She sighed, making her decision at last as she shut the door behind her and came over to him. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry."

"You said that many times last night."

"I did? What else did I say?"

She bit her lip. "It was all lies, of course."

"What else?"

"You said you love me."

Had he really said that? Scorpius scoured his mind to remember saying it, but no memory of it presented itself. Rose folded her arms. "I know it was a lie, Scorpius."

He took a deep breath. He wasn't sure if drunk people lied, but he didn't know what he felt for Rose. Either way, it was over between him and Rose. "I'm sorry," he said, "I wish it had worked out."

She looked angry and then helpless. She stood up. "I should leave."

"Rose…"

"You know what, Scorpius," she said, "I made just _one_ mistake. I didn't give you time. And for that, you accused me of cheating and went on and had a relationship with my cousin. And now, you're sitting there, acting like _you_ had the right to break-up with me! As though I was the one in the wrong!"

"No, I-"

"_You_ are wrong, Scorpius," she said. "It's _your_ fault. Don't forget it for one minute, okay?"

He just nodded quietly. She paced about the room. "I mean, it's always been this way!_You_ wanted the relationship in the first place! _You_ wanted to date me while you were my patient, and I resisted. And then, you said that _I_ had a tendency to date patients! And then you didn't give me a chance to explain, or even do anything about it-"

"Hey!" retorted Scorpius. "You were the one who wanted to answer the-"

"LET ME FINISH!" she growled, balling her fists and baring her teeth, reminding Scorpius of Victoire. "You're wrong, okay? You're wrong! You caused this break-up!"

"I agree," said Scorpius, "but please calm down."

"YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?!" she growled, even louder, and Scorpius cowered. She had always been so calm, so convincing - it was scary to see her so angry. She came and sat next to him, and Scorpius backed away.

"Yeah, back away from me," she said, choking up. Scorpius was surprised to see tears spring up in her eyes suddenly.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked her. "You're behaving like you're pregnant or…" Scorpius's eyes widened as the tears started to fall out of Rose's eyes. "… something," he finished weakly. "Are you?"

"It's none of your business," she replied, wiping her eyes.

"No, of course not," said Scorpius sarcastically. "The fact that it could be my child makes it completely out of question for me to consider it my business." It was all coming back to him. The fainting spell she'd had at the hospital, Victoire noticing she looked pale…

"Are you pregnant, Rose?" Scorpius asked her seriously.

She sniffled, and stood up again. "I am… but… fuck you. I don't need you."

He smiled. "How far along are you?"

"About nine weeks."

"So it's mine."

"No, it's Teddy's," she replied. "Happy?"

"Come here," he told her, patting at a spot next to him.

"No," she said. "I'm leaving."

"Come on," he said. "I'm sorry, Rose."

"You're just saying that because the baby is yours."

"No, I _am_ really sorry."

There was silence. Rose came and sat next to Scorpius, who took her hand in his. "Do you want to try again?"

"No."

He grimaced. "You do know that drunk people don't lie, right?"

"So do you love me?" asked Rose.

"Maybe."

"That's barely sufficient. I'll _maybe_ think of sharing custody with you, in that case."

"Wow, being pregnant makes you mean, Rose," he said softly, trying to touch her cheek, but she slapped his hand away.

"I should have been this way from the beginning," Rose replied.

"I think I like this better," said Scorpius.

"Good then, because I'm probably never going to forgive you," said Rose.

"And you forgive Vic?"

"She's family," replied Rose simply. "And I more than understand her state of mind. You, on the other hand, were being an idiot."

Scorpius wanted to point out that Rose had made her own mistakes, but he was sure that this wasn't the time for it.

Rose stretched and got up. "Get dressed. I'll make breakfast."

Scorpius nodded and stood up too. Newfound joy leapt inside him. He was going to be a father again. Another child. He'd do all the things that he never got to do with Amber… sending him or her off to Hogwarts, tucking the child to sleep, bedtime stories, occasional playground visits on the evenings that were free…

"Thanks, Rose," said Scorpius, and it wasn't just for the breakfast.

"Yeah," she replied, and Scorpius realised that it would take a lot more convincing to get her to forgive him, but he knew she would forgive him in the end.

* * *

"A word, Scorpius?"

Scorpius had just emerged from his room to see Victoire waiting outside. He nodded.

Smiling, she entered the room and shut the door behind her. Then before he could react, she had cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly. It was a brief, innocent, peck on his lips. He shut his eyes, as she let him rest his forehead on hers.

"Thank you," she whispered. She didn't have to explain the reason for her gratitude, because Scorpius was thankful to her for the same thing. Had they not had their little rebound relationship, things would have been very different.

He opened his eyes and smiled. Her lovely eyes were looking into his. "You're beautiful," he said simply. "I hope it works out for you now."

"Me too," she replied. "I hope you get Rose back."

"That's next to impossible."

"But not impossible," she said, breaking apart and winking at him. "You should have seen her expression last night when you said you loved her. Just let her be angry at you this once, though. Let her vent it out."

"I will," replied Scorpius.

"Come on," said Victoire. "Let's go and have breakfast. And," she added, "let this talk about Rose be between you and me."

He followed her out of the room to see Teddy and Rose already seated at the dining table. Teddy looked up at him and gave him a knowing smile. Victoire sat next to her husband and smiled up at Scorpius too, her eyes secretly travelling to Rose and back.

At that moment, Scorpius realised that he was the only one who was aware of the _real_reason behind both those smiles. There were so many things hidden there: so many moments of happiness and pain. Yet, here he was - here _they_ were, at turning points in all their lives - on the brink of starting over.

Scorpius knew that he was heading towards a new, better start in his life. Things were going to change for the good. And nothing could make him happier, or more enthusiastic about living life as it came. He knew it would all be for the good, no matter what.

**The End**

* * *

**Chapter End Notes**:

I realise I still need to complete Scorpius and Rose's story. I had initially planned on writing a lot more of ScoRose, but I ran short of time, and the story is supposed to be Scortoire, so I've cut it here. I will be following this up with a ScoRose (pure ScoRose this time, ha!) and I'll complete what I'd initially planned for them. Right now, I have a lot of WIPs to concentrate on, so let me see how quickly I can get this done.

I also have a Hugo/OC coming up, and will most probably be expanding on a Drarry drabble that I wrote for someone (I don't support the ship, but I liked the direction that my drabble took).

Any comments are welcome, and will be very appreciated. Writing drunk!Scorpius is almost as fun as writing his snark. :D

Thank you for reading this fic! :D *cookies and muffins to everyone*

* * *

**Review responses**

**Guest :This should be under Scorpius/Victoire not Scorpius/Rose, so ScorRose fans  
won't be so disappointed.**

**_Me- To be honest, there was going to be a huge chunk of ScoRose in the end, which I had to eliminate to save time, and to keep the Victoire part in the end. That's why it's like this. And I have mentioned in the beginning that this is ScoRose AND Scortoire. I only selected the characters as Scorpy and Rose to maintain uniformity with the category (the prequel is in the same)._**

**_Guest: :Personally Rose should not have forgiven victoire or scorpius Let him have  
joint that her cousin slept with her ex-boyfriend would have made me cringe  
or disgusted its gross and they will always share tht whenever they get  
_together_._**

**_Me - Oh, personally, I wouldn't have slept with a patient, and the story would have ended there. But this isn't about me, and it's not about you either ;). This is Rose. She's a psychiatrist; she's rational and if she doesn't understand the human state of mind, who will? That's why I think she might be more forgiving than that, though Scorpius has committed a bigger crime in her eyes. Plus, Rose knows that Victoire was distressed when this happened but Scorpius, on the other hand, was just being silly. Often, when we write, we need to follow the principles of the character, rather than our own. ;) Hope that made sense, and thank you for the review!_**


	5. A Note to the Readers

I don't usually do this, but I thought this one did require a separate note for anyone who was hoping to follow up on Scorpius and Rose from this story.

I had said there'd be a sequel once I found time, and it so happens, I did find time, and I am writing a sequel. It is, however not what you'd call a regular sequel. My messed up muse twisted it into a crossover.

Okay, please don't hate on me! I know some of you must have wanted to read on about what happened to Rose and Scorpius, and I'm actually already posting said crossover - have been doing it for a couple of months now, but it just occurred to me that there might be people expecting it to turn up under the Potter section, when it's actually somewhere else. It never struck me until a few days ago that this was a slightly messed up way to complete this series, because some of you might not even be a part of the other fandom (Supernatural).

I would like to apologise profusely for this. PROFUSELY. This is one of my less-read stories, which was why I turned the sequel into a crossover without really thinking about it. I'm sorry. I'm SO sorry!

If there's someone out there who happens to like SPN too, you can read the sequel - Cursed, which can be found on my profile. It does follow Rose and Scorpius's relationship, and she's six months pregnant at the beginning of the story. It's about time-travel, and it takes place late season 4, throughout season 5. It has slash (Destiel) and Sam will be paired with someone as well (het).

I might actually end up writing a pure Potter alternate ending to this story, and if I do, it's probably just going to be a one-shot, but I'm not promising anything. I will, however, try.

Once again, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry about this! Please don't send me flames. I'm ready to answer any questions, though. Just don't send me flames. :(


End file.
